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Tech · Mon Oct 27, 2003 3:05 pm

Currently contemplating a new HDD, out of the following 2 what would you reccomend?

Seagate Barracuda Serial ATA V 160GB 8MB Cache - £116

or...

Maxtor DiamondMax Plus9 Serial ATA 160GB 8MB Cache - £107

Cheers

Mon Oct 27, 2003 3:11 pm

My vote goes to the Maxtor. Their DiamondMax Plus9s are very nice. Course, I prefer Western Digital over all, especially Raptors.

custompccases · Tue Nov 04, 2003 9:57 pm

I have always preferred Seagate drives since not one has died on me as of yet. I have had 1 WD and 3 Maxtors die on me personally in the last year alone. This does not reflect other peoples experiences with drive reliability this is only my own.

Then again the return process for Maxtors are superb so even if something goes wrong it’s beyond easy to return.

I have heard Segates are kinda loud when they think?

I really can't help you beyond that since I don't own either of these drives. Going with the cheaper priced Maxtor would be a good choice.

Wed Nov 05, 2003 12:26 am

I would go with maxtor over seagate, mainly because the performance of the maxtor drive is better. The seagate will run much quieter, but that is its only advantage.

Spune · Wed Nov 05, 2003 12:33 am

I have a Maxtor 120GB SATA and its been a great drive for the month or so I have had it. The cable is awesome though I find it comes off really easy if you are monkeying in your case for some reason. Not a big deal just something to check before putting the side back on. :wink:

brainchild786 · Wed Nov 05, 2003 5:52 am

i have 2 of those maxtor drives in a RAID 0 array and they are amazing. not only can i not hear them but great performance as well. So got for the maxtors

LicketySplit · Wed Nov 05, 2003 6:29 am

Another vote for the maxtor...great drive...and quiet :wink:

redmouse · Wed Nov 05, 2003 7:12 am

i say go for the seagate if you care about noise levels as it is probably quieter. over at storagereview, they have seagate barracudas listed as the quietest drives

Wed Nov 05, 2003 7:39 am

Noise levels of all current 7200 RPM drives are fairly low. I have a couple of the Maxtor 160GB SATA drives, and they are very quiet -- nearly silent. I also have a larger (250GB) one, which makes some audible noise when it seeks -- I suppose the more massive head assembly in the higher capacity drive makes it harder to move the heads quietly, while still maintaining decent access times.

One factor nobody else has mentioned -- the Maxtor drives have both a SATA and a standard 4-pin power connector on them. AFAIK most (all?) Seagate SATA drives have only the SATA power connector. Unless you have a PSU that has SATA power connectors, you will likely need an adapter for the power cable if you go with the Seagate. This could add another few bucks to the cost.

Tech · Wed Nov 05, 2003 8:26 am

I'll more than likely go with the maxtor then. At the moment im using an old 20 Gig 5200 RPM IDE maxtor salvaged from my old dell, what kind of improvements am i likely to see once ive upgraded?

redmouse · Wed Nov 05, 2003 8:28 am

one word, HUGE...

programs will load faster, boot times will be lower, faster map changes in games, and a general performance boost

LicketySplit · Wed Nov 05, 2003 8:33 am

It will seem like going to dsl from dialup..hehe..nice upgrade :wink:

Tech · Thu Nov 13, 2003 11:07 am

Am i likely to encounter any problems by ghosting the old hard drive to the new sata one? Or would i be better off just having a clean install all together? Also, are there likely to be any problems using a sata and a pata in the same rig?

Thu Nov 13, 2003 11:20 am

Fallbay99 wrote:
Am i likely to encounter any problems by ghosting the old hard drive to the new sata one? Or would i be better off just having a clean install all together? Also, are there likely to be any problems using a sata and a pata in the same rig?

Clean install would be best... you'll probably need to install drivers for the SATA controller during the installation process. Doing this on an already-installed system for the controller that the boot drive is connected to can be a bit of a PITA sometimes. You could always try ghosting it first, then reinstall if you can't get it to boot.

Using SATA and PATA in the same system should not be a problem.

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Maxtor or Seagate 160 GB SATA Drive?

Maxtor or Seagate 160 GB SATA Drive?

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